Actor in Hollywood

Matt's eyes gleamed with excitement as he took the initiative, pouring all his strength into a sudden attack to break the balance. He could even see the innocent, shocked expression on Anson's face. With his strength, knocking Anson down should be an easy task...

Uh.

What... what's happening?

Matt realized that his power had lost its support. Instead of overpowering Anson, he disrupted his own balance. After exerting his force, he couldn't regain control. His core strength from his waist and abdomen exploded, trying to regain balance, but a light tug from his right hand, as if guiding a stream of water, threw him off course.

Then.

There was no "then."

Matt stumbled and flew forward.

Thud.

He ended up in a face-down sprawl on the ground, utterly embarrassed.

Matt could clearly hear his bones creak, and every muscle in his body protested. The powerful recoil overwhelmed him instantly, swallowing him whole. If not for the soft mat beneath him, his jaw might have been shattered.

"What?"

"What!"

"Wha... what..."

Matt stammered, turning around and scrambling to his feet with both hands and feet. His eyes were filled with confusion, curiosity, and excitement as he looked Anson up and down.

Anson, completely unharmed, wasn't even out of breath.

He looked as if he had just experienced a gentle breeze.

But Matt knew his own strength; he had truly given it his all.

Nick noticed something and tried to warn him, "Matt..."

But Matt raised his hand to stop Nick, quickly returning to face Anson. "How did you do that? I just used all my strength, so what happened? Could it be that I didn't have a stable stance? It doesn't feel like it. No, no, I need to try again."

There was no frustration or shame. Even though he had been humiliated after his bold claim, Matt wasn't angry. Instead, his face was full of eager curiosity.

Without waiting for Anson to respond, Matt closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, calmed down, and collected his thoughts. When he opened his eyes again, his demeanor was different from before.

Anyone could see that Matt was now in the right state of mind.

He exhaled a long breath and nodded, "I'm ready."

Seeing the energetic Matt in front of him, a smile appeared on Anson's lips. This wasn't the same Matt from the big screen.

Anson had initially intended to explain the principles, but it seemed Matt preferred to learn through practice, relying on his own experience to feel, ponder, and test. So Anson closed his mouth, letting Matt explore on his own.

Then, Anson raised his hands again, assuming a starting position.

Matt watched Anson's right hand, slowly raising his own hands until they were crossed together. Anson maintained his unhurried posture, patiently waiting.

Matt glanced at Anson, confirming that he was ready. He hooked his wrist onto Anson's right hand, twisting it into an eagle claw grip, and then pushed straight toward Anson's chest.

A straight line, a push, exerting force—

Suppression!

Clearly, Matt had given it some thought, considering why he had stumbled earlier. This time, he didn't rush in recklessly; he kept his force vertical, aiming for a head-on clash, a contest of strength.

The idea was correct.

But in this type of push-hands, it's not about direct confrontation. It's about guiding, smoothing, blending, and using force to counter force. Absolute strength isn't necessary to complete a counterattack or suppression.

Anson wasn't in a hurry.

He stood steadily in place, feeling Matt's successive waves of power. With his upper body upright, he kept waiting, observing, and when he caught a gap, his right hand flipped to break free from Matt's grip, rotating his palm to press against Matt's arm, then grabbed his wrist in reverse.

Then, without warning, he shifted to the left, pulling with his right hand.

The floodgates opened.

**The balance of the confrontation was broken, and the force poured out like a flood, sending Matt flying.**

Smack.

Nick couldn't bear to watch, so he closed his eyes, wincing at the sight of Matt sprawled on the ground.

Zhang Sheng, standing nearby, watched with interest. Although it wasn't as captivating as a game of Tetris, it was still entertaining enough for him to offer Matt a round of applause.

"Improvement, definitely some improvement."

Noticing Nick's gaze, Zhang Sheng quickly adjusted his expression from that of a bystander and forced a sincere, friendly smile.

And Matt?

He wasn't discouraged at all. On the contrary, his interest only grew. He quickly scrambled to his feet, rubbing his hands and legs to ease the numbness, then hopped back towards Anson with the enthusiasm of a kid playing hopscotch.

Standing in front of Anson—

Stare.

Matt didn't say a word; he just stared at Anson, not caring that this was their first meeting. Was this really appropriate?

Anson looked back at Matt with a clear and honest gaze, unwavering and composed.

After a moment of silence, it was Matt who gave in. Despite their height difference of about ten centimeters, it was glaringly obvious, forcing Matt to look up at Anson.

In the most literal sense, Matt had to look up to him.

His neck couldn't handle the strain, so Matt grimaced as he rubbed it, muttering under his breath, "I really hate you tall guys. What's the point of being so tall? You're not giraffes. Are you trying to reach the tender leaves at the top of the trees or something?"

Anson blinked, "You didn't know? The air up there is fresher."

With a completely serious expression, Anson looked utterly sincere.

Matt was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing. The more he laughed, the harder it became to stop. "Ha! You're a funny guy. You should be in comedy."

Anson replied smoothly, "Feel free to strongly recommend me to Universal Pictures."

Matt clapped his hands and laughed, completely losing his composure.

Even though many Hollywood studios, big and small, love making comedies, Universal Pictures has always been the king of doing more with less.

Universal is known for being stingy, refusing to spend big even on comedy productions, always sticking to a business model of getting the best value for their money.

Of course, Universal excels at controlling costs, but this has also led to a lack of blockbuster hits that could really explode in the market.

Among the top companies, Universal is often dubbed the "worst at making sequels," a title they've held for thirty years and will likely continue to hold well into 2023.

This was the underlying message in Anson's mention of Universal Pictures.

Matt understood immediately and laughed even harder.

He hadn't expected Anson to catch his joke so effortlessly—more than just catching it.

This was an unexpected discovery, and it completely lifted Matt's spirits. Wiping away the tears of laughter from his eyes, he quickly put his poker face back on.

Matt began stretching his neck, wrists, and ankles again. Looking up at Anson once more, he started bouncing on the spot like Rocky, throwing shadow punches in the air.

"Look, third time's the charm. The third time is when it really counts."

"Everything before was just practice. Now I'm ready. You probably don't know my nickname in Boston—One Punch Man."

"So, are you ready to face my full power? Don't say I didn't warn you."

With an exaggerated bravado and his boasts ringing out loud, Anson couldn't believe this was the same Matt Damon he knew.